The futuristic design looks fast, even in neutral.

It was supposed to be a quick round trip to buy bagels - should have taken a half-hour, tops. Five hours and 200 miles later, I pulled into the alleyway near my apartment in the dark, still buzzed on the Hypermotard's speed, ease of use and noisy engine. The world had gone to blazes and the cell phone had been shut off the entire time. Sweet.

Upon first glance, you might not suspect the compact, dirt bike-ish Hypermotard harbors the angry, raw power it revealed when riding (and riding and riding). Sitting there parked in my alleyway, it looked like a overgrown red ant with its triangular head, practically no cladding save for its pointy front, a bit of flare on its flanks and a dry weight of a little less than 400 pounds.

But start 'er up and it's as ferocious as a champ bantamweight prizefighter, a two-wheeled chainsaw with two speeds: "stop" and "fast."

It's hyper -thus the name -and always in a hurry, cutting through the air as quickly as rats scrambling from the garbage cans in my alley when the back door is opened.

Ducati's Hypermotard is similar in style and flavor to their MultiStrada, which I tested for three weeks two years ago. I don't remember that bike being as much fun, though, especially after testing their Monster 620, 999, 999R and Paul Smart.

This bike obviously isn't as devastatingly fast as the company's other models, but neither will you feel as though you've settled for less â%88%92 especially when you can lean over far enough round corners to make the change fall out of your pocket, or burst ahead of semis on Route 87 within milliseconds.

You sit upright rather than hunched over, and the grips are heavily grooved for a sure grip. It's powered by an air-cooled 78-horsepower, 1,078-cc engine featuring a 98x71.5 mm bore and stroke and 10.5:1 compression. The instrument panel does away with a traditional rpm "red zone" - instead, a red light illuminates when you're about to blow the engine as you accelerate in lower gears.

The bike also features newfangled, plasticky adjustable side mirrors that at first seemed an innovation but quickly revealed themselves as jiggly toys that blur at speed. The bike also hates traffic - the clutch action is stiff and applying it repeatedly on the congested West Side Highway produced a quick ache to the left hand.